Washington, D.C. – Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today blasted the Obama
administration for its failure to comply with the law by not releasing its
regulatory agenda by the statutory deadline, which was yesterday, October 31,
2012.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. § 602) requires that every
administration publish its regulatory agenda every six months in the Federal
Register. Yet, the Obama administration has failed to comply with this
law twice over the past year.

Last week, Senator Inhofe sent a letter to President Obama requesting that
the administration adhere to its next statutory deadline, which was yesterday.
As the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works,
Inhofe expressed specific concerns in the letter about EPA’s failure to publish
its regulatory agenda. Link to Inhofe
Letter to President Obama

“President Obama is refusing to comply with the law that requires him to
publish forthcoming regulations because he doesn’t want the American public to
know the terrible cost of the regulatory barrage he plans to unleash in a
second term,” Senator Inhofe said. “So instead of being honest
with the American people about what’s in store if he wins, he’s been trying to
hide the fact that he intends to move forward with a slew of rules that will
destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs and dramatically raise the cost of energy
on American families.

“Earlier this month I released a Senate oversight report detailing the
numerous job-killing regulations that the Obama-EPA has delayed or punted until
after the election. Now, thanks to a new report from National Economic
Research Associates (NERA), we have more insight into just how devastating
these regulations will be for American families. According to NERA, they will
destroy up to 887,000 jobs per year, hitting coal regions the hardest. In fact,
peak year losses in family income in coal country would range up to $1,600 per
household.

“The bottom line is that President Obama knows he can’t win reelection if
Americans know the truth. It’s bad enough that he’s hiding his second term
agenda – it’s even worse that he’s breaking the law to do it. The
American people deserve more from their President.”

Senator Inhofe recently released a detailed report that enumerates the slew
of environmental regulations that the Obama-Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has quietly delayed or punted before the election. As this report
reveals, these rules taken together will inevitably result in the elimination
of millions of American jobs, drive up the price of gas at the pump even more,
impose construction bans on local communities, and essentially shut down
American oil, natural gas, and coal production. Despite several media
outlets requesting comment from the Obama-EPA on Senator Inhofe’s report, the EPA
refuses to comment. This silence from the Obama-EPA is to be expected. As
Ken Ward Jr, President of the Society of Environmental Journalists recently
explained, the “Obama
EPA is the most difficult to get information and answers out of that I've
covered in 20 years."